Items of Interest January 12, 1899 Issue

Items of Interest

Religious freedom for Cuba

The Catholic priests of Cuban birth are going to send a petition to President McKinley, asking him to remove the Bishop of Havana, who is a Spaniard, and appoint a Cuban in his place. They say that the Spanish ecclesiastical authorities have always treated with injustice the Cuban priests, who number only thirty-two in all the island, while the Spanish priests are counted by thousands.

A committee of these priests called on a reporter to show the petition that had been prepared, and to ask the help of the American press in the cause. It was hard to convince them that they should not address the President of the United States, but the Pope, who is the authority by whom Catholic bishops in Cuba will be appointed hereafter.

Their astonishment was great when they learned that under American rule religious freedom will be so absolute that the Bishop of Havana will have no more to do with the government than any other citizen in the island, and that there will probably be several Bishops of Havana, one for each important denomination of Christians.

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